Pain

Pain comes, as it will

Shocking us with its cruel fangs

Sank into vulnerable flesh

It comes again and again

When least expected

For if we could foresee its coming

Would we not be better armored?

Prepared for the assault?

Yet, even when we see it coming

Or sense its stealth, somehow

The pain is still just as real

Just as excruciating

And even though we prepare for it

Still, we fall to our knees

Wounded and betrayed

By our own naivete

How could we be so stupid?

Pain comes, crushing us as it will

It comes

Six Thousand Beats and more

Six thousand beats and counting

Hearts forever stilled

Yet spirits shine a light to guide;

To inspire acts of love

Beat the drum and sing the honor songs

Of my people, of all peoples

Let the beat resound

Creator God, open ears

To hear six thousand beats and more

This Reconciliation Day

And let truth, though painful

Penetrate all hearts

And open wide the doors, once closed

Welcome all inside

Let all listen to six thousand beats and more,

though these hearts are forever stilled

Their Spirits guide us on

So, bless us now, Creator God

And heal the wounds of old

And wounds too freshly new

Creator God breathe into each

Gathered here today

A peace so longed for and so needed

In all our hearts today

Creator God bring healing now

For six thousand beats and more

Help to make a difference

Divine One

Please, help us set aside our small concerns

Help us see the broken people,

The people who have lapsed into despair,

Who see no reason to hope,

No way to go on

And if it is Your will

Grant us strength to stretch out a hand

In kindness and compassion

Show us, please,

Divine One,

Where we should be in unity

With those most in need

And grant us the tools and wherewithal

To make a difference

The meeting

It stood on my path

Its maw opened wide

Showing sharp teeth

And I trembled inside

It stood on my path

Blocking my way

I stood still, like a rock

Willing my fear

To calm and to leave

It stood in my path

I, frozen in terror

No prayer could I utter

Back away, said a voice

Slow, slow, don’t you run

It’s protecting its young

And means you no harm

Then I seen the small muzzle

Poking out from beneath her

Comically, quizzically,

Trembling and scared

And I took a step back

My eyes never leaving the face

Of the mother, with hackles

All spiked in the air

One more, then another

My eyes locked with hers

Until, at last, she turned

Calling her cub to her

As she lumbered away

What fear did my presence unlock

For this great, furry creature

in its concern for its young

My heart ceased its racing

I breathed deeply and then

I turned on the path

And went home again

The Yearning

Longing, yearning

Searching, reaching

For What? For whom? And why?

Answers elude

And still the longing

Churning in my gut

Caught in an endless void

Seeking an unknown satisfaction

A taste is given

In morsels so small,

Microscopic, really

Hunger as deep as the ocean,

Unfathomably deep, dark, mystical

Belly aching,

Never satisfied

The hunger like a crocodile,

Ancient and cruel

Its claws scratching til I bleed

Answers like wisps of fog

Elude my grasp

‘Aw’, says the old and wizened One,

‘Give up now; Rest; Let go’,

For the answers are not mine to know

Gentle reprieve

The ocean swells,

Drags me under into the deeps

Where at last I rest

I sleep

One Great Bruise

One great bruise

Hues of purple and green,

One caused by violence

Of fists against flesh

Others by the brutality

Of words screamed and shouted

At bowed heads

Pain inflicted

Needing healing

That has yet to come

One great bruise

Delivered by uncaring hands

One great bruise, colorless but deep

Delivered by tongues on fire

That care not what pain they inflict

Who bears the shield

That would protect?

Where the arms

With tender embrace

To comfort and to heal?

Come forth!

Come forth!

You’re needed now

Let brutality fall away

And peace reside

I will Remember you

I stand alone, but not alone

On this cold November Day

Remembering men and women, who

A century and more ago

Faced the guns and laid down lives

That we may meet again

In freedom and in peace

Across this land we remember you

With sad but grateful hearts

And let us pass on the command

To Remember this day

Lest we Forget

No, never again

The price for freedom

Was paid by those

Who lay in ditches and trenches,

While above the guns roared on and on and on

The guns were silenced

As they must be

In every land on earth

And let us not forget

No, never

That we each bear responsibility

To “let peace begin with me”

And never take for granted

This gift of yours,

You men and women

Who faced the guns

To grant us all the freedom

I stand alone, but not alone

As hearts and minds across this land

Remember you again

Prayer for Healing for All People

Divine One, I beg of you,

Stretch out your healing hand

So much hurt, so much pain

engulfs this world

Divine One, Do you see us?

Do you see the suffering?

So many ill, so many dying

Divine One, please

Stretch our your healing hand

Touch hardened hearts, touch mine, I plead

Grant my legs strength to walk abroad

Over hills and over vales

Divine One, touch my mind,

Help me understand

Bless these hands,

Let them work for you and for all people,

Those I know and love so well

And those I have yet to meet

Divine One, strengthen these arms

To lift the fallen ones

Give sweetness to my lips,

So that the words that fall from my mouth

May bring comfort to help sad hearts sing

Divine One, please

Deliver me and shield me please,

Now, as I go forth to serve and honour

Thee

(Please note: these words were given me as I lay in bed waiting for sleep to come. Do not ascribe these words to me but to the Divine One, who loves and watches over us all.)

Let the Moon Dance

Light refracted

Dancing energies

In every hue

Light redirected

In colors bright

Dancing on

Throughout the night

Darkness split

As light pours through

Out of focus

Mixed, untrue

And still, and yet

The dance goes on

Distortion

Awaken Me

Barnacles image courtesy of Pixabay

Am I one of the ‘unawakened ones’?

Are there barnacles covering my soul,

Like those that encrust the ship hulls at anchor?

Please come awaken me, Divine One

Remove those crusty, bitter bits that cling

Soften any hardness in my heart

So that my soul may sing again

Repair the broken pieces

Heal the cracks and tears

If you will it, it shall be done

This I trust, Divine One

Please, come